Cameron F. Kerry, Former Acting Secretary and General Counsel of Commerce, Joins Brookings as Distinguished Visiting Fellow

Washington, D.C. — Cameron F. Kerry, former acting secretary and general counsel of the U.S. Department of Commerce, has joined the Brookings Institution as the Ann R. and Andrew H. Tisch Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Governance Studies, Darrell West, vice president and director of Governance Studies, announced today.

At Brookings, Kerry will participate in public forums and research projects with the Governance Studies program and its affiliated Center for Technology Innovation. Kerry is also a visiting scholar with the MIT Media Lab.

“We are honored to have Cam join Brookings and look forward to his contributions to our technology policy and international trade research,” said West. “Cam was instrumental in the Commerce Department’s efforts in establishing new foundations for U.S. economic growth and prosperity in a 21st century global economy. He brings unparalleled expertise and insight that will further Governance Studies’ goal of delivering cutting-edge research and policy solutions to improve the performance of our national government.”

“I am proud to be joining Brookings,” Kerry said.  “It has such an unparalleled history of thought leadership across a range of areas, and I know it will provide an excellent platform from which to continue work on issues that are vital to sustained innovation and economic growth.”

As general counsel, Kerry supervised the work of more than 400 lawyers across all Commerce agencies and acted as the Department’s chief ethics officer.  Kerry also co-chaired the secretary’s Internet Policy Task Force and the National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Commercial Data Privacy, which resulted in the administration’s privacy guidelines, Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy, an expansive look at privacy issues in light of changes in technology and data usage.   This work made him one of the principal U.S. interlocutors with the European Union on commercial data privacy issues. 

During his tenure at Commerce, Kerry’s policy portfolio also included work on patent reform and intellectual property, privacy and security, global trade, transnational bribery, and Internet governance questions.

Prior to his government service, Kerry was a partner in the Boston office of Mintz Levin where he specialized in issues ranging from telecommunications, environmental, toxic torts, and privacy to insurance regulation law. Prior to joining Mintz Levin, Cameron worked as an associate at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, as well as clerked for Judge Elbert Tuttle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Kerry has taught telecommunications law as an adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School and written and presented on communications, evidence, and environmental issues. Kerry was a senior advisor and national surrogate for the 2004 Democratic presidential campaign.

Kerry earned his B.A. cum laude from Harvard College and his J.D. magna cum laude from Boston College Law School where he served as executive editor of the Law Review and winner of the school’s moot court competition.

The Ann R. and Andrew H. Tisch Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Governance Studies are individuals of particularly noteworthy distinction. The fellowship is designed to bring distinguished visitors from government, business, journalism, and academia to Brookings to write about challenges facing the country. Kerry is the first to be named to this prestigious fellowship.